Swapo must groom new leaders

Johann von Goethe said “We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.”

Renewal is a big word thrown around in the corridors of Swapo, especially in light of the current a dwindling support base, but not in a sense that younger members of the party anticipate.

For example, next year's electoral congress is deemed a perfect avenue for renewal, but this does not include shaking the gerontocracy that has the party firmly wrapped in its old skin.

Yet what we have learned in the past two national elections is that young people have lost appetite – and patience - for being led by leaders who can barely walk unassisted.

Ahead of the congress next year, one could barely pinpoint which younger members of the party could be serious contenders for senior positions in the party – which would have been an appetising ingredient for renewal.

The brightest young members of the party are either disinterested in active politics because of the firewall of gerontocracy barring them from contestation, or they quit the party to pursue their ambitions on alternative political platforms.

Swapo cannot talk of renewal for as long as its younger members are not systemically and deliberately injected into the top echelons with a view to taking over in the foreseeable future.

The infusion of new blood in Swapo will immediately transform the political party to one that is geared to take on the challenges of a new Namibia.